17 killed in Beijing building fire: Report

Beijing: At least 17 people were
killed and 24 injured in a building fire Monday, China`s state media reported, quoting local police.

The fire broke out about 1 am (1700 GMT yesterday)
in a four-story building in the Daxing district in the
capital`s southern suburbs, the agency quoted police as
saying, adding that the blaze had been put out.

It gave no other details, such as what might have
caused the fire.

A woman official who answered the phone at the
local government headquarters in Jiugong town, where the fire
took place, said she could not confirm Xinhua`s casualty
count, but added that an investigation had been launched.

Deadly fires are common in China and are typically
blamed on lax observation and enforcement of fire-safety
measures.

The government routinely orders nationwide safety
crackdowns after particularly deadly fires, but such disasters
continue to occur.

In November, a fire engulfed a high-rise apartment
building in Shanghai, leaving 58 people dead.

A preliminary investigation blamed that inferno on
careless work by unlicensed welders who ignited nylon netting
swathing the building, which was being renovated to improve
energy efficiency.